Despite round-the-clock teamwork by European anti-terrorism agencies in the wake of last month’s train bombings here, persistent barriers to cooperation and coordination make Europe vulnerable to attack, senior European and U.S. police officials, prosecutors and other experts say. Justice systems clash, policing styles diverge, and open borders allow terrorists far more mobility than their pursuers. For years, the Al Qaeda terrorist network has taken full advantage of these factors — and Europe’s democratic, tolerant environment — using the continent as a base for recruitment, logistics and plotting attacks elsewhere. The Madrid attacks, which killed 191 people, showed how Al Qaeda used that infrastructure to carry out its first successful strike in a Western Europe that was caught off guard, investigators say. Full Story
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